Wuhan - Raging flood waters from the Yangtze river threatened vaste swathes of central China yesterday, with authorities taking drastic measures to protect the cities of Jiujiang and Wuhan.
Officials said a major dyke on the Yangtze collapsed yesterday, threatening the eastern city of Jiujiang while Wuhan was placed on top alert as the population waits for a new flood peak to hit the city.
The official Xinhua news agency reported that the flood embankments protecting Jiujiang, on a bend of the Yangtze in the eastern province of Jiangxi, had "partially collapsed" at 12.30 p.m. (local time) causing a rift measuring 40 metres across.
In neighbouring Hubei province, Chinese authorities have blasted six more dykes and started to flood a vast lowland area inhabited by 300,000 people to protect Wuhan city. Meanwhile, in Seoul, South Korea, thousands of rescuers were picking through debris yesterday following floods which have left at least 288 people dead or missing as troops searched for explosives swept away by the torrents.